Waking Up

Macrina Wiederkehr is a writers whose writing inspires me to practice the art of waking up. Though everyone needs a good night’s sleep, everyone also needs to practice waking up. 

I’m an eager and early riser. Though I like going to sleep, I like waking up and starting a new day too. My biological clock, and not an alarm clock rouses me from my slumber. Yet, even after I am awake and moving through the routine of my day, Macrina’s words remind me that there are still opportunities to practice paying attention, becoming aware, and sharpening my alertness throughout the day. 

For me, the practice of waking up means remembering. An eternal God has created me and set eternity in my heart. Consequently, I can awaken to something new every day.  

Presently, it is spring, the season which brings an enormous amount of color, sounds and scents back into a world that was once dormant, dark and void of color.

 Through my upstairs office window I get to look out at a landscape full of green, not just one shade of green, rather various nuances of green. For instance, off in the distance, the fir and pine trees are an olive green while the grassy fields in the park are verdant. The boarding hedge that establishes our property’s west boundary is aqua green. My clematis, by the barn, is aqua green. 

Then there are the noises coming from the birds. From soft bird song of the chickadees and robins to honking geese and screeching osprey. Every bird has its own unique warble, song and sound. 

But it is not just the beauty of nature that that I awaken to. There are the people to whom I want to be alert to as well. 

My friend, the widow whom I know, is at times lonely, uncertain and yet eager to talk. When I see her do I give her my attention or pass her by on my way to somewhere or to something else?

Then there is my intuitive friend who will ask me questions about my writing and my speaking. Am I alert, aware and wide awake to her insights or am I inattentive, distracted and preoccupied?  

Why Bother?

Why bother waking up? We are eternal creatures which means there are endless possibilities present everyday. We can certainly go through the motions of living out all the days of our lives, or we  can practice waking up and putting into action the divine purpose we possess as created beings.

P.S.  I wrote the story of my journey to forgiveness for those who want to know that accepting God’s love for us changes everything about us. You can find A Heart’s Journey To Forgiveness at Redemption Press and Amazon.